A blog

Net Neutrality

In your city there is one electricity company. They are allowed to operate without competition because the people have decided that they would rather have one set of power lines in their neighborhoods than four or five. Electricity companies are therefore designated as “common carriers”. This means that they must provide service for a standard rate that cannot vary based on what it will be used for. So the electricity you use to power your refrigerator is billed at the same rate as what you use to turn on your TV.
Now suppose that your electricity company decides to start manufacturing microwaves. And then let’s say that they successfully convince your representatives that because they are providing this end use of the power, they are no longer common carriers and are not subject to regulation.
Now they are allowed to start charging you different rates depending on what you are using your power for. Don’t have one of their brand microwaves? Sorry, it costs twice as much to power it. Want to
power your TV? You’ll need to purchase the entertainment package. Unfortunately, since electricity requires infrastructure, they are the only provider in the town. Even though your tax dollars helped fund the development of their infrastructure, they now have no incentive to maintain it because you have no where else to go so you’ll just have to get used to it.
Or you could contact your representatives and tell them that you don’t want the electricity company to decide how you use your power. That they should again be treated as common carriers and should be required to charge a static rate regardless of what their power is used for.

Now just reread that replacing electricity with internet and appliances with streaming video or email and you will understand the current state of internet access in the United States.